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The year 2012 opened in dramatic fashion with magazine media-related deals. From Hanley Wood’s recapitalization to the final sell-off the remaining segments of what once was the massive Ziff Davis, 2012 saw its fair share of deals that involved traditional media brands as well as the currently-hot marketing services and digital properties.
In some transactions, where the acquirer bought a brand that included a print title, questions loomed over the print product’s survival. In other cases, magazines were valued assets in a larger multiplatform deal. The majority of deals that we’ve selected as notable for the year, however, were done by strategic buyers. Private equity firms certainly put their money to work, but it was a busy year for strategics, which took advantage of several bargain opportunities.

Hanley-Wood received a major financial reprieve through a debt-reduction deal to kick off 2012. In a recapitalization plan, the company reduced its long-term debt of $440 million to $80 million. As a result, Hanley Wood has a new ownership group led by Oaktree Capital Management, which also injected $35 million of capital into the company.

Serving the residential and commercial construction markets, Hanley Wood, considered one of the best-run b-to-b media companies, was hit particularly hard during the economic downturn and has continued to struggle as the housing market has been one of the slowest to recover.The new ownership group, which also consists of Strategic Value Partners and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, is betting the debt reduction and new capital will give the company some breathing room until the markets improve. Takeaway:The the debt reduction was a lifesaver for Hanley Wood. The company spent the rest of the year overhauling its executive team as well as the corporate structure, moving digital first and putting that extra capital to work via a set of acquisitions

After putting the property on the block in October 2011, Reader’s Digest Association sold Allrecipes.com and related digital assets to Meredith Corp. for $175 million.
This purchase nearly doubled Meredith Women’s Network audience to 40 million monthly uniques. Allrecipes.com also boasts a younger audience base; Meredith’s current female demographic falls in the mid-forties.

Attracting younger readers to the Meredith portfolio was top of mind for the company. When Meredith bought FamilyFun magazine from Disney earlier in the month, the title’s younger audience (the average FF user is 35 years old) was considered a key factor.
The site moved into Meredith’s food portfolio, which included another recently acquired RDA title, Every Day With Rachael Ray, as well as newly added Recipes.com and EatingWell Media Group.Takeaway: The deal was an instant audience multiplier for Meredith, which doubled its digital readersProperty: Ziff Davis EnterpriseBuyer: QuinStreetDate: February 2012Price: Undisclosed

In a bit of a head-scratcher, Ziff Davis Enterprise, one-half of what remained of one of the most storied companies in the history of publishing, was sold to QuinStreet, a publicly-traded lead-generation marketing company based in Foster City, California.

The way the deal was structured, QuinStreet acquired the brand assets, not the people. Accordingly, there was a significant round of layoffs associate with the deal. As many as 30 people were let go immediately and in the following weeks, a total of 100 ZDE employees would be cut from a workforce of 120 people.

“Both companies are committed to doing right by their customers and there’s obviously a lot of business in transit that can’t just be chucked over the wall to QuinStreet,” said a source. “It’s kind of a funny deal, initially there were a lot of folks who were not brought on board to QuinStreet but are continuing to be Ziff Davis Enterprise employees with various responsibilities for facilitating the transition.”Takeaway: The deal signaled the attractiveness strong brands have as lead-gen vehicles, which was presumably why QuinStreet made the purchase. However, the longevity of that brand strength was questioned when many of the content experts were not carried over to the new ownersRead and learn more

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About Me

John R. Austin is from the land of Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. He was born in Key West, Florida on 18 August 1942 and subsequently grew up on this tropical, Southernmost U.S. Island. Being born in a cradle of literary genius just had to endow John with an inkling of talent, right? We shall see…

John is now retired, retarded and laid back...Writing when the urge strikes!

He is currently writing Havana Harvest…When Cuba Was Naughty! a coming-of-age novel based on the author’s own experience.

John attended Saint Joseph’s elementary/middle School and Mary Immaculate High School in Key West and graduated with honors. John went on and graduated from the University of Florida in 1965 with an Architectural Degree in Building Construction and later, while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force Engineers, received a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Central Missouri State University.

John wrote his master’s thesis titled: “A Methods Analysis of the Air Force Engineering Management System of Total Programming” and achieved limited publication within the Air Force engineering community for instructional purposes. In high school he wrote and delivered a state-level, award-winning, American Legion-sponsored speech titled The Constitution---Ours to Defend.

John has lived in the countries of China (Taiwan), Germany, Portugal and South Korea. He has lived in the United States in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.

Living and interacting with individuals in various foreign countries with diverse cultures and customs and ten different states with different attitudes and outlooks has equipped John with a uniquely incisive and worldly understanding of human nature.

Besides HavanaHarvest…When Cuba Was Naughty! John is also structuring two other stories based on his life adventures and travels: Alaskan Cherokee and Taiwan Tango.